After silently "wishing" Wong well three hundred and sixty-six times, Ronan returned to Kamar-Taj.
The entire place was quiet, except for the open door of the Sanctum.
Everywhere else was still, with no one around.
Ronan stepped into the Sanctum, and as usual, the Ancient One was sipping tea.
As Ronan knew, the Ancient One's daily routine was quite fixed—aside from eating and sleeping, she would occasionally guide some apprentice sorcerers, then sit here meditating and drinking tea.
As for reading...
Forget it, she had probably read every book in Kamar-Taj countless times.
"Teacher, you wanted to see me?"
Ronan sat down opposite the Ancient One, taking the tea offered by the servant with practiced ease.
"How's your arm?"
During the past two weeks of training, Ronan had been using his injured left hand.
That kind of muscle tear would take months to heal for an ordinary person.
But the secret medicine of Kamar-Taj was no joke.
"No problem, it's back to normal now."
Ronan flexed his left arm, feeling confident—it certainly wasn't affecting his gaming anymore.
"That's good."
"At least I won't have to change your bandages every day."
The Ancient One made a small joke.
During this time, it had been the Ancient One herself who changed the bandages on Ronan's left hand.
So she made light of the situation.
"Well, you're free from that now."
"I was just grateful you didn't have Wong do it."
Ronan chuckled, recalling those painful experiences from years ago.
When he trained in close combat, he'd often get scrapes and bruises.
And Wong was the one responsible for applying medicine to Ronan's wounds.
How to put it...
Wong's technique wasn't bad—it was too effective!
Not only did it hurt like hell, but once, when setting a bone, he nearly broke Ronan's arm in the process!
Ronan had strongly suspected at the time that Wong did it on purpose!
"Hmm, take a look at this."
The Ancient One smiled, seeming to reminisce.
She handed Ronan a few photos.
The person in the photos wasn't a stranger—it was Ronan himself, wearing the Iron Man helmet.
Judging by the images, these were taken during the Battle of New York.
"Awful!"
"Whoever took these photos has terrible skills."
Ronan curled his lips, clearly unimpressed with the photographer's skills.
Even though his strikingly handsome face was hidden by the helmet, there was still his noble bearing, right?
Not a trace of it showed in these shots. From this angle, standing beside Steve Rogers, he looked like some kind of bookish nerd.
But he was a fighter!
Every punch packed nearly two decades of training!
"These are from surveillance footage."
"Of course, they don't look good."
The Ancient One seemed to agree with his critique.
But since she brought these photos to his attention, there had to be a reason, right?
"Teacher, just tell me what's going on."
"They can look all they want, but they won't figure out my identity from these, right?"
Ronan slipped the photos into his pocket, planning to burn them later.
There was no way he'd let anyone see such embarrassing shots!
Plus, he made a mental note to find the people who took those screenshots and teach them a lesson.
Next time they take pictures, they'd better make him look good!
"Yes, they haven't uncovered your identity yet."
"But there is someone who's been persistent in investigating. A friend of mine provided me with his identity."
The Ancient One placed another photo on the table.
Tony Stark?
The picture showed Tony Stark and Ronan facing each other—likely taken when Ronan had said something like, "Jarvis, activate attack mode," and a surveillance camera captured the moment.
"Him?"
"He's that interested in me?"
Ronan gave Tony Stark's photo a curious look.
He recalled that in a parallel universe in the comics, Tony Stark had also become the Sorcerer Supreme.
However, the one in front of him clearly wasn't that Sorcerer Supreme.
This Tony might never even touch magic in his lifetime.
"According to my friend, ever since the alien invasion, he's been searching for clues about you."
"Of course, it's not just you—those defeated aliens have also been sent to research facilities."
"And it's not just him. There's also an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. that seems to be looking into you."
The Ancient One added more information.
Of course, the idea that S.H.I.E.L.D.—or rather, HYDRA—was interested in him didn't surprise Ronan.
After all, organizations like them wanted to meddle in everything, even trying to use the Space Stone to create weapons, which led to opening the portal that brought Loki to Earth.
Honestly, if Earth kept getting attacked by major villains, HYDRA would deserve a lot of the blame.
They were practically working against their own planet!
"So, Teacher, are you saying you want me to take care of them?"
Ronan gestured toward Tony Stark's photo.
Whether it was Tony Stark or Nick Fury, Ronan had no ties to them and certainly no friendship.
And if they were to discover the secrets of Kamar-Taj, neither the Ancient One nor Ronan would allow it.
So, when the time came, Ronan would do what had to be done.
"No, the situation isn't that dire."
"Kamar-Taj may distance itself from the world, but that doesn't mean we've never appeared."
"There have been some who trained in the mystic arts here and then returned to a normal life."
The Ancient One shook her head, not being one for unnecessary bloodshed.
But she certainly wasn't a saint.
After all, if she were soft-hearted, how could she have protected Earth for so many years?
"So what do you suggest, Teacher?"
Ronan looked to the Ancient One.
As he wasn't yet the Sorcerer Supreme, all of Kamar-Taj answered to the Ancient One's instructions.
Ronan had no intention of breaking that rule, nor could he afford to.
As the next Sorcerer Supreme, he knew that if he broke the rules, someday, someone else would break his.
And that was something Ronan didn't want to see.
Of course, if anyone did get ideas, Ronan could always count on Wong to sit on them until they saw reason.
"Go meet with them, and give them a warning."
"Let them understand that pursuing this further will bring them no benefit."
The Ancient One glanced at the photo of Tony Stark, then turned her gaze back to Ronan.
"Especially that organization. Their authority is too vast—they will eventually find those who once studied magic here."
"So, make sure your message is strong."
"There may not be much we can do beyond that, but we must guarantee one thing."
"The safety of every sorcerer in Kamar-Taj."
"That is the responsibility of the Sorcerer Supreme!"